Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo

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Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo
Prime Minister of Portugal
Order: 110th (56th of the Republic, 8th since the Carnation Revolution)
Term of Office 1 August 1979 - 3 January 1980
Predecessor: Carlos da Mota Pinto
Successor: Francisco Sá Carneiro
Date of Birth 18 January 1930
Place of Birth: Abrantes
Date of Death 10 July 2004
Place of Death: Lisbon
Husband: Not married
Occupation: Chemical-Industrial Engineer
Political Party: Independent (later, Socialist)

Maria de Lourdes Ruivo da Silva de Matos Pintasilgo, GCC, GCIH (pronounced [mɐˈɾiɐ dɨ ˈluɾdɨʃ pĩtɐˈsiɫgu]; (full name ) (January 18, 1930-July 10, 2004) was the first woman (and the only, to date) to serve as Prime Minister of Portugal.

Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo was born at São João Baptista, Abrantes, in the Tagus Valley to a middle class family. [1] Her father, Jamie de Matos Pintasilgo (Conceição, Covilhã, December 9, 1896 - Socorro, Lisbon, October 10, 1959), was in the wool business, and her mother was Amélia do Carmo Ruivo da Silva, born in Vendas Novas. They married in Abrantes on March 14, 1929. [2]

A left-wing Catholic, she was close to the Socialist Party; however, never belonged to a political party.[3]

Maria de Lourdes has an unusual childhood. Her father, Jamie, abandoned the family and at school she tried hard to hide that, thus causing her to avoid usual relationships.[4] However, as a child, Pintasilgo still showed signs of her extraordinary qualities. At the age of seven, she was sent to the Liceu Filipa de Lencastre, a secondary school, in Lisbon.[5] She distinguished herself in the Mocidade Portuguesa, a militaristic youth movement founded by Dictator Salazar.[6] Later Pintasilgo joined Acção Católica, Catholic Action, and during her years at the capital's higher technical institute, she joined and eventually led the Catholic's women's student movement.[7]

After graduating from Lisbon's Higher Technical Institute in 1953, at the age of 23, with an engineering degree in industrial chemistry she went into a graduate scholarship program with the national Nuclear Energy Board.[8] After completing the program, she began working for a large Portuguese conglomerate with interests in cement plants, Companhia Uniao Fabril, the "CUF".[8] By 1954, she held the position of chief engineer of the studies and projects division.[8] From that position she quickly moved to the position of project director, where she was in charge of the firm's documentation center and responsible for the company's technical journals.[8] She held this position for seven years, until she left the company in 1960.[8]

Pintasilgo had strong ties to the Roman Catholic Church. From 1952 to 1956, at Lisbon's Catholic University, she was president of the women's group.[8] Then, in 1956 she became the international president of a movement of Catholic students, Pax Romana.[8] In 1961, Pintasilgo joined Graal, a Catholic order for lay women.[8] Two years after joining Graal she lead an international group working to improve the movement as well as establishing it in Portugal.[8] By 1965 she had become the international vice-president.[8] She was also appointed by the Vatican and served as woman's liaison between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches.[8]

After leaving Companhia Uniao Fabril, she held a job in government until 1969 which was to run Portugal's program for development and social change.[8] In 1970, she presided over government working groups involving women's affairs, as well as being a member of the Portuguese delegation to the United Nations, 1971-1972.[8] In 1974 she was appointed secretary of state for social welfare in the first provisional government following the revolution.[8] She moved her way up to Minister of Social Affairs by early 1975.[8] In 1975, Pintasilgo became Portugal's first Ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO.[8]

In 1979 Pintasilgo was called on by General Antnio Ramalho Eanes, the President of Portugal, to become Prime Minister.[9] Maria de Lourdes was sworn in as the Prime Minister of the Portuguese caretaker government on August 1, 1979 with the term of three months in office.[10] During her time in office she pushed to modernize the out-dated social welfare system.[11] She left her mark by making social security universal and improving health care, education, and labor legislation in Portugal.[12]

Pintasilso became the first woman to run for president in 1986. She ran as an independent and was unsuccessful.[13] The next year she was elected to the European Parliament as a member of the Socialist Party which she held until 1989.[14]

Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo died of cardiac arrest at her home in Lisbon in the early hours of 10 July 2004.[15]

[edit] Ancestors

Ancestors of Maria de Lourdes Ruivo da Silva de Matos Pintasilgo


[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo", page 32. The Times (London), 2004 July 15
  2. ^ O'Shaughnessy, Hugh:"Obituary: Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo; Europe's Second Female Prime Minister", page 34. The Independent (London), 2004 July 14
  3. ^ "Maria Pintasilgo, 74, Dies; Portuguese Premier in '79", page 8. The New York Times, Agence France-Presse, 2004 July 13
  4. ^ Cook,Stephen and Stuart Wavell:"Thursday People: Lisbon's laby in waiting/ Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo, Portuguese presidential candidate" The Guardian (London), 1986 January 2
  5. ^ O'Shaughnessy, Hugh:"Obituary: Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo; Europe's Second Female Prime Minister", page 34. The Independent (London), 2004 July 14
  6. ^ O'Shaughnessy, Hugh:"Obituary: Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo; Europe's Second Female Prime Minister", page 34. The Independent (London), 2004 July 14
  7. ^ O'Shaughnessy, Hugh:"Obituary: Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo; Europe's Second Female Prime Minister", page 34. The Independent (London), 2004 July 14
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p The Associated Press, International News: Lisbon, Portugal, 1979 July 19
  9. ^ O'Shaughnessy, Hugh:"Obituary: Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo; Europe's Second Female Prime Minister", page 34. The Independent (London), 2004 July 14
  10. ^ "Portuguese New Government Sworn In", Xinhua General News Service, 1979 August 3
  11. ^ O'Shaughnessy, Hugh:"Obituary: Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo; Europe's Second Female Prime Minister", page 34. The Independent (London), 2004 July 14
  12. ^ O'Shaughnessy, Hugh:"Obituary: Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo; Europe's Second Female Prime Minister", page 34. The Independent (London), 2004 July 14
  13. ^ "Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo", page 32. The Times (London), 2004 July 15
  14. ^ "Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo", page 32. The Times (London), 2004 July 15
  15. ^ "Portugal mourns much-loved female leader", EuroNews, 2004 July 10
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